Valentine's Day
by ComatoseButterfly
Summary: Being thrown through different worlds one after the other wasn't the way Haruhi Fujioka imagined Valentine's Day to go. Having to cope with the problems of the other versions of the Host Club, will she be able to find out why all this is happening? Possible manga spoilers until volume 16. R&R please.
1. Introduction

**A little story I'm thinking of writing. Tell me what you think and if I should continue! :) I have only read up to volume 16 so far (I don't like reading them online) so if this contradicts anything from that point in the story, just ignore it, please. -.- Manga spoilers up until volume 16, by the way, so don't read until you're passed that, or don't intend to read the manga(it should be fine if you've just watched the anime - I've tried to cover a lot of stuff from the manga in back story things).**

**Anyway, enjoy! :)**

1 Introduction

Haruhi Fujioka. A second-year, Class 2-A student at Ouran Academy.

The first thing you should know about Miss Fujioka is that she is a scholarship student - A commoner, compared to the rest of the school. The second is that she is posing as a boy, to repay her debt to the Ouran Host Club, much to the displeasure of the Chairman's mother - more famously known as the Director of Suoh. You see, during Haruhi's first year at Ouran, she had managed to break a vase worth ¥8,000,000, and, because she couldn't afford to pay them back, she ended up becoming a host - and mistaken for a boy.

Today, for once, she was feeling quite girly. It was the day before Valentine's Day, and, unlike last year, it wasn't going to be ruined by Hunny (aka Mitsukuni Haninozuka) getting a cavity - he had promised Mori (aka Takashi Morinozuka) he would decrease his sugar intake when they had parted ways to leave for university, after Mori had won a duel between the two of them. He had also promised to only bring Usa-chan, his stuffed-toy bunny, to the university division 3 times a week. This, if anything, had made his brother, Yasuchika, think of him as more of a human and be able to accept him more as the heir to the Haninozuka name. Chika, stubborn as he was, still refused to admit this, though. They still visited the Host Club, and hosted whenever they had free time, although they only came a few times a week and didn't stay very long. They were both the heir's their families, and so they had a lot of pressure on them. This Valentine's Day, although Haruhi would never admit this to anyone ever, no matter who they were or under what circumstances, she desperately wanted to receive a gift from Tamaki Suoh, the self-proclaimed "King" of the Ouran Host Club.

She had been having strange feelings for Tamaki ever since her dad's colleague's daughter, Mei, had come to live with them. She had left Haruhi a magazine with a quiz in it to determine whether "You love him or not". Nothing else - nobody else - seemed to charm her like he did. She had to sit in a room full of hosts, and not one of them besides Tamaki had made her feel that way. She hated to admit it, but it did seem that she loved him.

"Hey, Haruhi." Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, her classmates and fellow Host Club members had walked over to her desk. She was too busy daydreaming, and completely ignored them.

"Wonder who she's gonna give chocolate to." Kaoru asked. "Screw that - Milord will have us celebrating European style, and she's a host, so naturally it'll be a case of who'll give any to _her._"

"Well, then - All the members - except maybe Kyoya, he doesn't seem the type, and if he does it'll be really cheap stuff, only maybe ¥10,000 - Renge, Miss Sakurazuka, Miss Kurakano and Bossanova." Hikaru listed.

"Are you getting her anything, Hikaru?"

"Of course," Hikaru smirked, "And my present will be better than Milord's!" He raised his fist, posing in a determined way. "He can get Haruhi all the Tanuki and Giant Tuna merchandise he wants, but I'm going to get her the most expensive and best!"

Kaoru chuckled at his brother.

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"You and Milord are so alike. And you haven't changed a bit since we were younger. You're still as stubborn as you were when we were 5!"

"Hey, I'm a lot nicer than when I was 5! No way are me and Milord alike - he's a complete, black-box idiot. I'm the one with all the logic, he's just stupid, alright?"

"Whatever you say, Hikamaki."

"That was just stupid, Tamaoru."

"Like yours was any better."

"You guys disturbed my train of thought." A voice came from the desk next to them. Haruhi had stopped daydreaming and was now glaring at them both. "You really know how to annoy me, don't you?"

Kaoru pulled up a chair from the closest desk and placed it on the side of Haruhi's desk. He sat down, and Hikaru did the same, putting the chair on the other side of the desk.

"So, tomorrow's Valentine's Day - any guy in mind you want a present from? Or to give a present to, maybe? Of course, you're pretty much limited to the host club members and Bossanova with that." Kaoru chuckled. Hikaru went quiet, turning his head down to face his lap.

"No. I may be a girl, but there's no one."

"Then what were you thinking about so intently, if not the love of your life?"

"I was just thinking... about what Tamaki-senpai was planning for the host club activity. I mean, he's arranged for Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai to be there, so it must be something special - he's even invited Chika and Satoshi. Good thing we have Satoshi - Chika wouldn't come if it wasn't for him."

Kaoru laughed. "Yeah, no wonder Chika doesn't like him very much. Still, I refuse to believe that's what you were thinking about. Come on, you ignored us for that reason? Really?"

"Yes! I promise! Hey, don't tickle me!"

"Why don't you two just get a room?" Hikaru muttered, still facing his lap. "It's obvious Kaoru likes you - although he's just proved he lied to his own brother when he said he wasn't interested."

"And I stand by that point. We're just friends, Hikaru, jeez."

"Just friends, huh?_ Just friends _don't tickle each other to get something out of each other. _Just friends_ don't flirt with each other, especially not when they're both hosts! That just screams flirting."

"What are you on about, Hikaru? I'm not flirting. I mean, I'm not interested. Plus, that would ruin her image, especially when she's supposed to be a guy."

"Well, you probably figured that being the uke of the gay twincest plot play would make it perfectly fine for you to flirt with another "guy", am I right?"

"Oh, so me playing an uke makes me gayer, huh?"

"You two! Stop it!" Haruhi shouted, "You're not fighting over me, okay? Sorry, Hikaru, but I don't think of either of you that way - I don't think of anyone that way. So will you just stop bickering unless you find a better reason to?"

Hikaru and Kaoru both nodded in unison, not wanting to say another word that might make Haruhi shout again. Haruhi checked her watch.

"Well, it's about time to head to Music Room 3 anyway. Let's try and get there before Tamaki-senpai plans anything stupid or makes me wear anything that I don't want to wear."

The three of them set off for Music Room 3, where they were greeted by an angry Tamaki.

"You three are late," He began, "Activities are closed today because of a very important meeting. I hope you didn't all forget what day it is tomorrow."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. How could she forget? It had been on her mind all week, and today was even worse. Especially since Tamaki was starting to change her mind about everything she had hoped for that week.

"Haruhi, I hope you haven't forgotten especially - Daddy won't be too pleased if he doesn't get a present!"

Of course, Tamaki didn't mean her _real_ father - he always thought of the host club as a family (the members accepted this as he had a lot of family problems and it drew his mind away from them), and Tamaki was "Daddy", Kyoya was "Mom", Haruhi and the twins were the "children", and apparently Hunny and Mori were "neighbors". His delusional mind had somehow convinced him that they really were a family.

"I don't think I'm obliged to give you a present based on a fake family you've created." She replied in her usual harsh tone.

Tamaki, as usual, sunk into a phase of depression and sat in the corner, facing the wall, in his dejected pose.

"Sorry, senpai, but if you keep referring to yourself as my "Daddy", it's gonna hurt even more when you have to face the facts." She added, in as kind a voice as she could. Of course, if you were normal, it wouldn't hurt at all, she thought to herself, but didn't say this aloud since it was too harsh for even her.

"She has a point, Milord." Hikaru started. "But there must be a better reason than this as to why there aren't any customers."

"You said something about a meeting?" Kaoru added, "But I'm fairly certain its not about our "family" issues."

Tamaki (quite literally and metaphorically) leaped out of his phase and smiled at the twins, his left hand on his hip, his right hand outstretched to them. "Of course! Tomorrow, as you all know - Is Valentine's Day! The most romantic day for the Host Club, and we are going to make sure our guests are extra pleased with our services!"

"So how come we're having a meeting without Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked in unison.

Tamaki sighed. "They are university students now, of course. They'll be busy with all their assignments, and we can't have them in both today and tomorrow, especially with tomorrow being the busiest day of this week for us! So we'll just have to inform them tomorrow at the earliest time we can."

That day's meeting was fairly boring, and Haruhi had a feeling that not having Hunny and Mori to consult made it slightly less fun than it could have been. All the plans were still as extravagant as usual, and all involved some complaint from Kyoya about "cost". Everything for Valentine's Day in place, thankfully without any girly cosplay suggestions from Tamaki (although Tamaki was insisting on the knight costumes from a while back to save cost) - Costumes were going to be designed and made by the Hitachiin's mum (their grandmother refused after Tamaki insulted her hair the last time she made costumes) - so Haruhi could rest peacefully knowing nothing was going to go badly the next day.

Or so she thought...


	2. The White Room

2 The White Room

At around 10pm Haruhi decided to go to sleep. It was quite early considering she was 16, but she couldn't be tired tomorrow - she knew Tamaki would be mad if she seemed tired or bored on Valentine's Day, especially since she was a host. So she managed to get herself a few extra hours sleep, without any interruptions from either Mei, - who, although not living with Haruhi and Ranka anymore, still dropped by often - any of the hosts, or her dad - who was working late that night and wouldn't be home for another couple of hours.

Something very strange happened the moment Haruhi woke up. It felt as though she'd woken up after sleeping through a long car journey - tired and restless, no matter how much sleep you've just had. She didn't realize for a few minutes, but mainly because she hadn't got her contacts in. She could see, yes, but her vision was blurred, and, for some reason, her contacts weren't on her bedside table - in fact, there wasn't even a table or a bed there. She'd been sleeping on the floor.

As soon as Haruhi realized this, she noticed she was in a room that definitely wasn't part of her apartment. The walls and floor were a bright white, so much the same colour that they looked connected; there was a black sofa, a dark contrast to the rest of the room it looked odd; and, on the wall the sofa was facing, was a widescreen TV.

Haruhi had a TV at home, but it was quite small - nothing like this one. It wasn't like she really cared what the TV was there for, but, because there wasn't much else she could do, she went over to the sofa and found a black, circular remote. This was even more odd. It didn't look anything like a TV remote. It only had 4 buttons - play, forward, rewind, and pause. There wasn't even a stop button.

Curious, although it wasn't fitting to her character, she pointed the remote at the TV and pressed play. No picture came on, but she felt herself being pulled into it. It was an odd sensation, and it made it seem ridiculous that she could be dreaming.

As if none of that had even happened, she found herself back at home, waking up again. She was certain it couldn't have been a dream... It seemed so realistic. Still, it wasn't in anyway logical, so she just ignored it. Honestly - getting sucked into a TV? It was like one of those low-fund daytime dramas.

The first thing that made her feel weird that morning was her dad. Sure, in the mornings he didn't dress up in women's clothing, but it looked as though he'd cut his hair in a more manly way. But then, she guessed he might always have just always been wearing a wig - his hair was naturally brown, but his long hair was red. She always thought he'd just dyed it, but maybe she was wrong.

She didn't have time to think on trivial things like that, so she quickly got changed into her ouran uniform and ran out the house, a piece of toast shoved into it. She was late, and it wasn't like her to be late. So what was up with her today?

A few things became clearer when she saw someone familiar walking towards Higashi High. "Hey Ar-" then she stopped. Sure, Arai was the only person she'd seen within the last year that went to Higashi - but this person didn't usually go to Higashi.

The boy she had called to was Tamaki Suoh. "Oh. An Ouran student, huh?" he put on a dashing smile, but it wasn't his usual. It was more menacing, more evil. "So tell me, girly-boy, how's being rich working out for you? Think you're so much better than us that you come patrolling round our commoners area like some make-fun-of-the-poor parade?"

"B-but... you're a Suoh. You're family is rich."

Tamaki snorted. "Rich? As if. How do you know my name, anyway?"

"Y-you go to Ouran. You're the king of the Ouran Host Club. You don't go to Higashi-"

"A Host Club? Full of perverts and whores, willing to flirt with anybody and everybody they can? Like I would degrade myself that much."

She was about to mention that this host club was about pleasing people, not that kind of stuff, but she stopped herself. She decided to leave it at that, and walk off. But she called behind her back, "By the way- I'm a girl. I just thought you should know, before you act all snobby like you know everything."

She took her usual seat in class, but, once again, something odd happened. Two red-haired twins came over to her - the Hitachiins. Wait, that wasn't right - Hikaru had dyed his hair black over half a year ago. "Hey, guys. You dyed your hair back, Hikaru?" she asked, a smile on her face. They returned it with only glares.

"What are you talking about? I've always had red hair. By the way, you're in my seat. In other words, get out of it."

"But this has always been my seat."

"No, commoner. Your seat's over there." They both said in unison, pointing towards the chair on the opposite side of the room. Haruhi suddenly realized this wasn't the world she had known 12 hours ago. It wasn't a logical explanation, but it was the best she had - it wasn't like it was April Fools Day, and if it was a prank, it was a pretty well-laid-out one.

Haruhi nodded silently, and made her way over to the seat the twins were pointing to. She didn't know what exactly had happened, but Haruhi wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of the Hitachiins in any world.

The day passed with stranger happenings than that - Kyoya was the nicest guy in 3-B(He was no longer in 3-A in this world), Chika was the soccer team captain, and, as the host club no longer existed in this school, Hunny and Mori were nowhere to be seen. It wasn't until she was walking home that Haruhi once again got the feeling she kept getting when she was around Tamaki.

"Hey, rich girl!" She heard his voice call. She turned to see the bad-boy version of Tamaki, with his messy blonde hair and his unfamiliar, goofy smile.

"Why not get a limo ride around this area, make us all a bit more "jealous"?" He said, glaring, but still grinning cruelly.

"For your information, Suoh, I happen to live around here. And I'm not rich - I'm just as common as you, I'm just smart enough to land myself a scholarship. So you can take that back."

Tamaki turned slightly red. "S-sorry. I just hate those Ouran kids. They walk around like they're better than us commoners just because they're super rich, and heirs to big companies and stuff."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."

Tamaki laughed. "Glad to see it doesn't spread. Hey, your bag looks heavy. Pass it."

"N-no, i-it's fine. I can carry a bag." She replied, but Tamaki was already taking it off her.

"It's fine for me to carry it. I'm not rich, but I can be a gentleman."

He smiled at her. Haruhi felt herself go red, but she tried her best not to show it, as Tamaki asked her which way she lived.

"D-down there..." she replied, pointing to the community housing lot she lived in.

Tamaki walked with her down to her house. The mood had gone quiet, and neither of them spoke until they reached the Fujioka apartment. Tamaki handed Haruhi her bag, and began to walk down the stairs. However, he stopped, turned around, and said, "Oh, by the way -"he winked at her, "Happy Valentine's Day!"


	3. The Interworlds

3 The Interworld

February 14th, 9:30PM.

Haruhi decided she'd call it a night - too many strange scenarios had occurred during the last 24 hours, and she'd been unwillingly spun into a whirlwind of confusion. She snuggled down under her warm quilt covers and quickly fell asleep, worn out despite the fact that she at least used to be in the host club - and nothing could tire a person out more.

What felt like only moments later, however, she awoke, to find herself once again in the strange white room. Once again, the widescreen TV was hung on the wall, and once again she had woken up to find herself on the white, marble-like floor. She knew better this time than to try and turn the TV on, however it did it itself just seconds after Haruhi had noticed it was there again. This time, she wasn't pulled in, but, oddly, a voice came from it, despite the fact there were no speakers in sight.

"Welcome, Haruhi Fujioka, to the Interworlds."

"I-Interworlds?" she stammered. This was way too confusing to possibly follow. Did anyone honestly expect her to believe this?

"This is the world, between all the other worlds. It connects them all together, like thread. Sometimes, people get stuck in the Interworld, like you. They get thrown into world after world, repeating the same day over and over again in what you would call "alternate dimensions". But don't worry - there are ways to get back to your world."

"Like how?" She asked. _Why all the vague replies?_

"Well, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. You seemed to react quite a bit calmer than other people in the last world, so enjoy the next one!"

Just like before, she felt herself being pulled into the screen, and just like before, she once again ended up back in bed, even more confused than before. That didn't seem to have answered any of her past questions.

Still, she got up, put on her dressing gown, and headed out of her room. What she saw next almost gave her a heart attack.

She was no longer in the traditional japanese-style apartment she lived in. No, it looked like she was in a western-style mansion! Maids and butlers wandered round the house, talking to each other. One of the maids came over to Haruhi and smiled to her. "Good morning, Miss Fujioka. What would you like for breakfast today?"

"U-um... I'll just have some rice..." She stuttered, trying not to get too worked up about the fact that she'd just woken up to find herself being served by a maid in the biggest mansion she'd ever seen - and she'd seen a few after making friends with the host club.

The strangest part of it all was who she saw when she went downstairs. She walked into the dining room to find a man and a woman, sat together drinking coffee and holding hands. They both turned upon seeing Haruhi, and she saw who they were - Her father, acting and looking as he did before her mother passed away; and then, a black haired woman with short hair, who reminded Haruhi of herself, just a few years older.

"M-mom?" She stuttered, tears building up in her eyes. "B-but... H-how did..." Her parents just stared at her, confused looks on both their faces. She gave it up. "Never mind. I'm pretty sleepy - I must've blanked out for a moment there." Ignoring the fact that her "blanking out" wasn't exactly likely, she sat down at the huge table, and waited for one of the workers to bring her rice.

After breakfast, she started wondering - Did she still go to Ouran? Was she no longer a scholarship student, but in fact a full-paying student? And, most importantly - did they think she was a boy or a girl?

That question was answered as soon as one of the maids entered her room, shortly after Haruhi had walked in herself. The maid bowed, and began to look through a huge pink wardrobe that Haruhi was sure she hadn't seen when she had woken up - but now she looked at it, it was pretty impossible to miss. She was expecting to find her blue ouran blazer, tie and black trousers, but instead she found a puffy yellow dress, with a strip of pink ribbon to tie around the collar. The female ouran uniform.

Trying her best not to overreact, she quickly got dressed into the uniform. No point making a big deal out of it - she'd already been told that she just had to go through a few different worlds. _Might as well get used to the weirdness of it all,_ she thought to herself as she did up the ribbon around her neck and puffed out the skirt. Looking in the mirror, she even had her long hair back - how come she hadn't realized? After so long wearing guys clothing, she'd forgotten how wearing a dress felt - she actually looked quite pretty, too. Her hair being a complete mess now that it was much longer again, she grabbed her brush and ran it through each clump of strands, straightening it out slightly. It was a side of herself she'd not seen for almost 2 years. She barely even recognized herself.

She didn't waste too much time staring, however. She ran back downstairs and began to open the door, when an elderly maid appeared from a room nearby. "Oh, don't walk, my dear. I'll call a taxi for you right away."

Hearing herself being called "my dear" instead of "mistress" was a lot more settling. She was grateful to the maid, however she tried to stop her - it wasn't really necessary, she was sure she could walk - but the maid quickly got the phone and dialed for the nearest cab. After only 5 minutes it arrived - an incredibly flashy black BMW. She'd seen a car just like this before, when the host club had visited in the "real" world.

She decided it was best not to object, so she bowed in thanks, walked outside and got into the car. Now that she was outside, she could see the whole mansion clearly. It was magnificent, just like the Hitachiin's and the Suoh's, but unique at the same time. It was rather medieval, but yet modern. It had turrets, but also glass walls. It was a strange combination, but it somehow all went together.

If all this had changed within one night, she wondered what surprises she would find once she got to Ouran.

**Sorry if the chapter 2 was confusing, but it was supposed to be. A lot of your questions will be answered here, in this chapter, or as we progress along the story. If you want me to write a longer version of any of these "worlds", PM me or ask in your review at any point along the story, and when this is complete I'll go back and add more to the "worlds".**


	4. Rumors

4 - Rumors

**Author would like to apologize for how late this is. I'm really sorry, I've been busy and I got kind of lost with plot points. I had tons of ideas when I started this, but I've lost a lot of them. Anyway, thanks to those who have stuck by me. It means a lot. Enjoy the latest chapter, you guys.**

"Did you hear?"

"Everyone's heard!"

"It's probably just a rumor, though, right?"

"Nuh-uh. Have you seen them?"

As Haruhi entered Ouran, she noticed that people were giggling and whispering madly. Some people stared at her, which made her insanely uncomfortable. What was all this about? What was with all the rich kids today?

She saw Kyoya coming towards her, and the uproar of gossiping increased further. People started staring at him, too, and it became apparent that something had happened between the two of them, or at the very least someone had spread a rumor about them.

He smiled at her as he approached. It wasn't his usual, sly smile, but more kind - it didn't fit how he usually acted at all. But, then again, no one so far had, in either world. There was no point making a big fuss about it when she'd already had an explanation, even if it was pretty vague.

The next thing that happened surprised her, to say the least.

Kyoya caressed her cheek, and, still smiling his strangely unnatural grin, he said, "Good morning, darling."

Darling? Not likely. She thought, and pulled herself away from him.

"What's wrong, Haruhi?" He asked, giving her a skeptical look.

She didn't have time for any stupid other world alternations. Even after just 2 looks at different worlds she was more pleased with the original. She lifted her fist and collided it with his cheek at full force. He rubbed his cheek, and stared at Haruhi with shock-filled eyes.

She ran then. The whispering didn't die down as she got further away - in fact, it increased, and she was fairly certain that by lunch it would have spread around the whole school.

Not that she cared, though. She just wanted to get out of the school. For once in her life, she wanted to ditch class and go home. She didn't even know why she'd punched Kyoya - maybe she was changing along with all the different worlds. In the first one, she'd shouted out loud about her being a girl even though she attended Ouran as a male student, and now she'd gone and punched Kyoya Ootori In the face.

Things were definitely getting weird.

Of course, Haruhi didn't skip class, however she approached classroom 2-A very cautiously. She was sure this would still be her classroom - and she was right. But there was something that wasn't - and of course, it was her two red-haired classmates that looked slightly odd today.

"Good morning, Haru-chan!" They greeted her in unison - using Hunny's nickname for her, which she found slightly odd - in high-pitched voices that weren't fitting to them as men.

But it seemed they weren't men anymore. In this world, it seemed that the Hitachiins were girls.

"Uh... G-Good morning..." She wasn't 100% sure if they had the same names or not anymore, so she decided it was best just not to mention it.

"What's wrong, Haru-chan?" "Hikaru" asked - it seemed even as girls she could tell them apart. That part of her hadn't changed. "We heard the rumor..."

"About you and Kyoya-kun." "Kaoru" finished, and the two of them giggled together. Haruhi felt like rushing right out of the classroom at that. It seemed everyone did know. And if the Hitachiins knew, it was certain they had spread it round. Especially since they were girls now, and it was fairly easy to guess that they would be the school's biggest gossips.

Haruhi heard the door swing open, and the whole class went silent, besides a few whispers and the Hitachiins giggling and clapping like maniacs. "Oh, look who's here, Haru-chan!"

She turned, and as she had expected, it was Kyoya. Haruhi felt about ready to collapse in embarrassment - which wasn't like her at all. The only times she'd ever felt like this, like she didn't ever want to go back to school, was when she first realized she had feelings for Tamaki, and also when they accidentally kissed on the last day of her 1st year.

But today, it was a whole new level of embarrassment.

"Hey, Haruhi. What's going on with you today? You're acting really weird..." He said under his breath, as soon as he'd managed to walk over to her, pushing the twins aside along the way. "And Hikaru and Kaoru are spreading it around school! Do you know how annoying it is to have people giggle and whisper every time you pass them?"

Haruhi knew exactly how annoying it was. She'd had to deal with it too. It wasn't just him.

"Hey, Kyoya-kun!" The twins cheered in unison, giggling madly, "Maybe she's over you!"

"O-over?" His eyes grew wider. Haruhi had never seen such an expression on his face before, but she knew the Hitachiins' comment had hurt him. "They aren't... They aren't s-serious, are they?"

"W-well..." Haruhi tried to think this over. It was true she didn't want to hurt Kyoya's feelings, but it was also true that she'd never had feelings for Kyoya in that way. She couldn't lie to him.

The silence was good enough of an answer for Kyoya. "I see what this is about. You can't hide it from me. I've seen you with him!"

The minority of the class that hadn't already been watching now turned to look at the scene, a mixture of both sympathy and excitement in their reactions.

"I really don't know who you're on about. Really." She replied calmly, trying to hush Kyoya. She never knew he had a temper like this, but, then again, it was in a completely different world.

"Kuze! Takeshi Kuze! I saw you two at his family's orange orchid."

"I never went to Kuze's orchid. I honestly thought he disliked me, after I pretty much helped his team lose in the sports festival last year."

"Sports... Festival? So you've been going to festivals with him, now?"

Haruhi should have guessed this world wouldn't have experienced the Kuze/Suoh vs. Ohtori sports festival, as it was suggested by the commoner Haruhi. If she had been rich, like in this world, she would have been like her classmates - confused by the idea of it all.

"I even gave you that ring, but I can see clearly you're not wearing it today. Just, forget it." He walked out of the room, his eyes had teared slightly; His jaw clenched in anger.

The Hitachiins were watching over, shock all over their faces. "Looks like Haru-chan and Kyoya aren't going to get married and have spoilt rich children, Kao-chan..." Hikaru muttered to Kaoru.

"I know, Hika-chan. Takeshi and Haru-chan having spoilt rich children that smell of orange peel just isn't fun enough to think about." Kaoru whispered back. They turned to her, eyes full of curiosity.

"So, since when were you and Takeshi dating?" They asked in unison, smiles on their faces again. They wanted in on any gossip to do with Haruhi, it seemed.

But that was exactly what Haruhi wanted to know. What _was_ this version of her doing with Kuze, of all people?


	5. The Unexpected Truth

5 The Unexpected Truths

**Sorry if this gets confusing, but like I've said before it's supposed to be, and I'm not revealing anything before the time comes. Also, sorry for not updating in a while. Don't kill me, I bring chapter 5! D;**

* * *

><p>It seemed that as soon as the Hitachiin's had discovered the new information, they had spread it around the school like lice. By lunch, everyone was staring even more intently at Haruhi, sniggering as she passed them. It was even worse than before. Some glared, and the words "betrayal" and "cheater" came up so often it made her feel ill inside. It shouldn't have, of course - she never even went out with Kyoya, or did anything with Kuze. Not really, at least. She had already begun to hate the her of this world - cheating on Kyoya wasn't something you'd do so casually. Not even if he was nice in this world. She had to find a reason before the end of the day. She didn't understand why she had to find the reason, but she felt deep down it was important for her to do so. Like her old life depended on it.<p>

"Hey, Fujioka." She heard the oh-so-familiar voice call out. He'd often come into the host club, eating his orange with the peel still covered around it, provoking Kyoya but failing to win at any argument he started. Takeshi Kuze.

"Kuze-senpai? What do you want?"

"Just telling you that you owe me the money for our little staging act." He sneered, winking. "I got Kyoya riled up for you. A blow like that to such a sensitive guy; you sure are cruel, Fujioka. Whatever though, just hand me over the money."

_Kyoya? Sensitive? Clearly this isn't my world..._

"But... Why would I need Kyoya riling up?" I asked, curiously. What was the self from this world thinking? And if he really was so sensitive - why was the her in this world such a bitch?

Kuze laughed. "You mean you've forgotten already? Your family wanted the competition eliminated, obviously. Kyoya's going to be so upset he won't want to help out at home anymore, and everyone knows the chairman of the Ohtori group really wants Kyoya as his successor. He won't feel fulfilled with one of the others."

This puzzled her even more. Competition? Had she been ordered to string Kyoya along and knock him down when he was most vulnerable? That was a horrible thing to do! How could anyone be so cruel to this Kyoya? To Haruhi, he seemed like a really nice guy - like the Kyoya she'd known, only without the cruel, "I'm-such-a-jerk" exterior personality. On top of that, what did her family want with him?

She decided she might look a little dumb, asking Kuze what her family's trade was. Acting natural in that situation was best, and she figured she could more or less nail the her from this world's personality, even after that brief conversation.

"Whatever. Just tell me how much I owe you and be gone. I have no time for you." She let out a frustrated sigh, trying not to act too dramatic - she wasn't very good at acting, needless to say. According to the hosts, she had a monotonous voice that had no feeling to it when she recited scripts. They'd told her after her Zuka club performance (which made the ordeal twice as embarrassing, even with her Dad there to watch it).

Kuze began to total up the amount - _as if there's any adding to do_ - before coming to an answer and replying, "¥8,000,000."

A strange sensation hit her as she processed his reply through her mind - déjà vu. Her first day meeting the host club; the smashed up antique vase; the ¥8,000,000 debt she couldn't pay off. She blocked it out as best she could, glaring at Kuze.

"Really, Takeshi? Getting seen with a beautiful girl such as myself, crushing your enemy, and you want _me_ to pay you ¥8,000,000?" She spoke flatly, not really thinking over her words before they spewed out. Cringing as she realized what she just said, she hoped the situation in this world was similar. Kuze and Kyoya might not have been enemies in this world. Actually, it sounded more like Haruhi was Kyoya's enemy. For some reason, the her of this world just wanted to fraternize with that.

He laughed, but it was humorless - cold. "Fine. ¥80,000. That's as low as I'm going, and that is low for the child of a family such as yours. Bring it by tomorrow or it's going up to ¥800,000, okay, Fujioka?" He winked again, before leaving the scene with not even a glance behind him. He really knew what to say in this world. The Kuze she'd known could never keep his cool like that.

She just hoped her family was rich enough to keep ¥80,000 lying around somewhere in the house, within reach.

But she had somewhere else to go first.

Curious as to what Kuze had meant by including her family in their conversation, Haruhi decided to head off toward the library. Pulling up a chair in front of one of the computers once she'd managed to push her way through the doors blocked by ignorant chatter, she waited for the search engine to load. It shocked her by how quick it was - the local library didn't have computers like that. She typed in "Fujioka", and was stunned by how quickly the suggestions popped up. She scrolled through them, trying to find something that might fit, when she came across a link entitled "Fujoka Medical Group". She clicked on it, and the page that loaded had her both puzzled, astounded and, although she felt stupid feeling like this, quite proud. Now she understood why rich people could be so snobby - seeing your name come up all over the internet and it actually referring to you was a good feeling.

On the front page was a recent news update - February 10th. She read it eagerly, hoping to find another ego booster in there. She hated to admit it, but it made her smile inside to read nice things about her family for once, instead of just hearing the word "commoners" from snotty rich children.

_Hey, world! Ryoji here._

_ So, I'm sure you've all heard of a little disease called 'Systemic lupus erythematosus' - commonly abbreviated to SLE or lupus. It was previously thought to be incurable, and we know of a few medical groups like ourselves that have been trying to work on a cure. One of those I'll note is the Ohtori group. But I'm so sorry, Yoshio - looks like we've just beaten you to it! What a shame. Better luck next time, though, Ohtori._

Haruhi stopped reading through it. SLE - she was sure she'd heard of that somewhere, but where she couldn't seem to remember, no matter how hard she thought. It gave her a headache, trying to think so far back, especially after everything had happened. She couldn't think properly at all, and she kept being driven back to strange places - an airport, Paris, flowing blonde hair...

And then it hit her. Anne-Sophie De Grantenue. Tamaki's mother. She was suffering from an incurable disease, most commonly found in women, known as systemic lupus erythematosus - like her father had typed, SLE.

Continuing to read on, the horror on her face was unimaginable.

_Of course, as it's so hard to produce, and the formula is rare, the price of treatment is going to be incredibly high, so we advise only the sickest (and maybe richest) of patients to look into getting treatment. How do you like that, Yoshio? We'll soon be bringing in tons more money than you, and saving more lives._

_ Anyway, I have to go fill out some paperwork on this cure. Have a healthy day, and until my next update I bid you goodbye,_

_Ryoji Fujioka._

She couldn't stand her Father charging so much for a cure. What if this world was like the one she'd known, where Tamaki's mother was ill, and the Ohtori family teamed up with Chairman Suoh to cure her of her illness? What would happen then? Anne-Sophie would end up with huge bills for her treatment, instead of getting it free like she would have if the Ohtori group had found the cure. She was sure her father wouldn't allow practice of the cure without payment to him, either.

"I find that man sick." A familiar voice murmured from behind her. He had short, spiky blond hair and wore pale blue glasses, but even with the change in appearance he was still fairly recognizable. "How does it feel having him as a father?"

"Excuse me?" Haruhi retaliated in fury. She didn't care if this was Tamaki. No one insulted her family, no matter how "sick" they were being.

He didn't even comment, though - he just stalked off, out of the library. Her fears had been granted; obviously, Tamaki's mother was still suffering from SLE. There'd be no justification for Tamaki's cruel words otherwise. He wouldn't have as strong an opinion if not; he might still think Ryoji was sick, but he wouldn't have a reason to act so cold about it. All these alternate Tamaki's seemed to be jerks.

She wondered if it was because the Tamaki she'd known was always kind. He never blamed anyone, he never held grudges. He always forgave, even without an apology to accept. But he must have really been angry upset, or something. No one could be so kind in both their deepest personality inside them and the facade they cloaked over themselves.

She decided she'd comfort him when she returned to her world; all he needed was a shoulder to cry on. All these worlds were making her realize worse than ever how much pain he'd been put in his whole life. And here she was, worrying about paying Kuze ¥80,000!

She really needed to set her priorities straight.

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><p><strong>Sorry it's been a while without an update - but I've got one now, I hope you liked it, and will continue to read! ^.-<strong>


	6. Spoilt Rich Girl

6 Spoilt Rich Girl

The rest of the day was uneventful, as she spent it pretty much trying to avoid anyone she knew. Rumors about her and Kuze were spreading like wildfire - no thanks to Hikaru and Kaoru for starting all of them - and she knew if she bumped into Kyoya it would only cause more people to start muttering and giggling. She felt really bad for Kyoya, and wanted more of an answer as to why this Haruhi had done that to him - more than Kuze had given her, at least. Being cruel to someone because of a family competition was horrible. And stringing one of her friends, Kyoya, along? Unforgivable.

But she'd never come face-to-face with the her of this world, so there was no point thinking too much about it. She ended up spending the rest of the day in the library - it seemed Tamaki wasn't coming back, which was good. She was pretty sure it was because of her presence there, but right now she couldn't care less. No matter what her Dad had done, he had no right to start on her for it!

Then again, really it was her that had started on him. But still, he could have kept his mouth shut when he was around her.

When Haruhi returned home, she was greeted by an elderly maid she recognized - but she couldn't remember where she'd seen that face before. It wasn't that long ago, although it felt like it, so it was safe to say it must have been in the "real" world. Or at least the one she came from, if all this really was real (which she still doubted, because how often is it that you get transported to another world, really?).

"Good evening Mistress Haruhi. Would you like a cup of tea? I know you don't like our usual stuff, so I tried to brew something nicer for a change." The elderly woman smiled. That was what blew away any feelings of nostalgia Haruhi was feeling. The woman from the "real" world hadn't really ever smiled in Haruhi's presence - not that she wasn't a kind woman, but she was a strict one.

"Oh, I'd love that!" She smiled, before remembering that the her from this world was most likely cold towards others, and being rich she probably wasn't nice to her maids. Yet the woman didn't seem to take any notice, which was pretty odd in Haruhi's opinion. She was cold towards her classmates, but kind to this woman?

"No problem, deary. Now come on in, you'll get cold if you stand in that doorway."

She did as told, and headed for her bedroom, hoping she'd got the directions right. Throwing her coat off and untying her hair, she looked in the mirror and couldn't help smiling. She was beautiful. Haruhi hadn't cared for images or appearances ever in her life, but now she saw herself looking like a proper girl - well, she was kind of pretty. She could see what people saw in her now. If she dressed like that more often in the "real" world...

But she was supposed to be posing as a guy, so of course she could never do that. But maybe once her debt was paid off she could grow her hair again and get herself a girls uniform? The only difficult part would be trying to explain to her old customers that she was straight and everything, but she'd had to pay off a debt for a vase she'd broken in her first year.

Her thoughts were broken as she heard a voice calling to her from just outside the door. It was less cracked than the elderly maids, so she deduced it was probably one of the younger ones. "Mistress Haruhi, Shima says your tea is ready. Would you like it upstairs or down?"

Shima Maezono. That was who the maid was. Tamaki's old maid in Suoh Mansion #2. She felt guilty forgetting, but it had been a while. She figured she could be slightly excused.

"Oh, I'll come down for it. Don't bother bringing it up." Haruhi answered, before realizing she sounded too kind, and adding, "I don't have to rely on other people for every little thing, you know?"

"R-right. Sorry, Mistress Haruhi! C-come down quickly or it'll go cold, okay?"

Haruhi sighed quietly to herself. She really didn't like acting so cruel to everybody.

She made her way downstairs, but as soon as she was on the ground floor she had no idea which way she should go. There were a few maids there, but they were all going in different directions and it was impossible to tell where Shima had gone. She tried to act natural and make her way over to one of the rooms and peek in, but she ended up looking into the kitchen. But wow, was it awe-inducing.

Cooks, maids, butlers and a man who appeared to be the head-chef were rustling around in there, preparing meals for the staff and for the Fujioka's. Haruhi could see around 4 cooks, but that was only a fraction of how many there probably were in there. The kitchen alone looked probably around the same size as 2 and a half of Haruhi's new bedrooms, and that bedroom was pretty big. As she was taking in the sights, the head-chef turned around and suddenly went red, halting his shouts.

"A-ah, Mistress Haruhi!" He greeted, trying to hide how nervous he was. "W-what are you doing in here?"

"O-oh, don't mind me!" It seemed Haruhi was also just as nervous as the head chef. "I'm just checking up on all the workers- you know, to make sure you're all doing your job well since Mother and Father aren't here. Keep up your good work!"

She left, a horribly-bright pink tint spreading across her cheeks as she closed the door carefully. Come to think of it, where were her parents anyway? Surely there should have been a note to tell her they'd gone out, or a message from one of the maids? Then again, it was Valentine's Day. She tried not to worry too much. After all, they were probably just at some fancy restaurant. They'd most likely told the Haruhi of this world about it anyway, so there wasn't much to think about.

She didn't have long to think on this either, as when she turned around to try another room she came face-to-face with the maid who had asked her about breakfast that morning. She looked quite nervous, just like the head-chef had been, probably about the talk of an "inspection".

"M-mistress Haruhi! S-shima told me to c-come and find you, b-but it appears y-you've just been checking up on a-all the other w-workers!" She tried to smile, but Haruhi could see the glow of sweat on her forehead. She sighed. She couldn't keep this act up all day.

"Listen, could you keep a secret?" Haruhi asked in a low whisper. The maid nodded, and she continued, "You see, there's no inspection. I got kind of lost, and I didn't want to say so because I've lived here a while, so..." Her voice trailed off, but the maid looked less nervous and her smile seemed less forced.

"Oh, it's alright. You're usually at the Ohtori's around this time, so we don't expect you to remember where everything is. Follow me." The maid winked, and Haruhi checked her nametag so she could thank her properly - Lucille Entouire.

"Thanks, Lucille."

Lucille led her over to the other side of the house - she'd not even been close! - and into a pretty, light brown and gold sitting room. There wasn't anybody there, however Shima had left a gold tray with a white and pink cup and saucer on top, the cup turned upside down, and a matching teapot on the side. There was also a little milk boat and a bowl of sugar cubes, but Haruhi didn't like either in her tea. It was too western for her taste.

Lucille offered to pour it her, but Haruhi shook her head. She'd done enough for her. Lucille smiled and headed out. Haruhi wanted Lucille to stay, for someone to talk to, but she knew she might get fired if the latter didn't do her work. So instead Haruhi was left on her own, sipping tea in a vast sitting room.

Her opinion of being rich was that it was a lonely, dramatic life.

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><p>In the end, Haruhi never got to have a go at her Father in this world, but she figured it didn't really matter. She'd just go to sleep and wake up in an entirely different world, with entirely different versions of the people she knew and an entirely different life story to try and stick to. <em>The me of this world should be the one to set her Dad straight<em>, she thought as she snuggled into bed. She checked her watch - only 8:30PM. But she was tired, and bored to boot. There was no harm in an early night, especially when it meant she was closer to the next world. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't drift off without leaving something for the other her. So she sat up, routed through the drawer for something to write on and a pen, finding a notepad. Tearing out a piece of the paper, she wrote the following:

_Haruhi Fujioka, your Dad has discovered something that will cause someone I care about - and you might care about, too - a lot of grief. If you don't convince him to supply the cure for SLE for free, this person won't be able to smile again, because his mother will just die from SLE. And all he wants is to see his mother smile again, but while she's suffering he can't. So please, just tell your Dad to change his mind about charging people, okay?_

_ PS. You owe Kuze ¥80,000._

She was about to sign it, but decided against it in the end. Who would believe a note they found if it was signed "You From Another World"?

With the thought of possibly helping the Tamaki of this world, she could finally get to sleep with a smile on her face. She just hoped the cold Haruhi Fujioka of that world would take notice and not just rip it up like she didn't even care.

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><p>Once again, she arrived back in the white room. It no longer shocked her; it was so obvious she would have come back. Instead of the strange voice, this time, Haruhi spoke first.<p>

"Did the other me find the note?"

For a moment there was silence, and she started to wonder if the disembodied voice was actually there this time. It wasn't during her first visit. Maybe it came and left? Maybe there were other white rooms for it to haunt? The idea of it being a ghost was quite funny really, and she was amused for a moment with her daydreams. But then it spoke, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yes, and it seemed it had a little effect on her at first." Haruhi began to feel hopeful, like she might have made a difference, but then her heart dropped as the voice continued, "But it appears she has yet to act on it. Don't fret though, it was a good move. And I think you're beginning to see why you're being sent to these worlds. Which means we're progressing."

That was the question that had been bugging Haruhi so much. Why she was there. Along with that, she wondered if the voice meant 'we' as in her and the voice or the voice and someone - or some_thing_ - else. She returned to her first question, though, given it was the most important. "So, what's the reason?" She asked, hoping to get something out of the voice. Her chances were slim and she was highly doubtful that it would actually tell her, but she thought it might be willing to answer her question now that the subject had been brought up again.

She sensed the voice smile, and then she felt really odd. A voice couldn't smile. It just wasn't logical that she'd be able to sense a smile when she couldn't even see a face, or a body, or anything. So why did she get the feeling it had? "That's still for you to work out, I'm afraid. Well, look at the time." The voice laughed. It was a really weird laugh, echoing across the room. "You best be going to the next world. Maybe you'll learn your purpose in this world?"

As the sensation of being pulled into the TV hit her, she heard the voice call out. "You're probably sick of hearing this, but Happy Valentine's Day!"

And with that, she was in a whole new world again, being sucked back into the TV. She wondered what the hosts would be like in this one. One thing she could tell from all the worlds was that they didn't seem to want to leave her alone - at least, not all of them. In the first, it was just Tamaki, but then in the last one it seemed it was Kyoya and the twins. She couldn't help but wonder who it would be to take up all her attention this time.

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><p><strong>Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!~ :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's finally somewhat in season now. ;) Keep reading and reviewing, it really does mean a lot~ ^^<strong>


	7. Sugar And Spice

7 Sugar And Spice

**I'm too obvious with who was going to be in this one. Yup, it's Hunny's turn to be focused on (and Mori's turn will be soon~). Yay! Enjoy~ ^^**

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><p>After the past world, she had expected a lot of what was to come in this one. Well, somewhat, anyway. All the gender-bending that had happened in that world couldn't have been the last one.<p>

But when she woke up with Y chromosomes, she did still freak out.

It felt so... odd. Naturally, having something that shape in her pants was pretty uncomfortable after all the years of not (although she had pretended to, in a sense). She was a girl! She wasn't supposed to have that! Out of all the things that had happened to her in the past 2 worlds, she had to say this one was the worst. Maybe even the worst moment she'd had in her life since... Well, probably since her Mother passed away.

And boxers. Seriously - they were _not _comfortable. At all.

What was even stranger was that there wasn't any blue ouran uniform again! Instead, she (or he, now) grabbed a yellow dress from the wardrobe, eyeing it with disgust. _I see I'm back to "cross-dressing". _She sighed, slipping into the dress carefully. He didn't mind - what was the difference between the sexes, really? - but it felt a little weird now "she" was a guy. He had short hair again, but it was in a jaw-length bob, unlike "her" usual tousled pixie-cut.

Swaggering down the stairs with a little faked enthusiasm, he didn't see either of his parents. He could hear snoring coming from the room her Father would have been in in the "normal" world, though, so he didn't think too much on it. Grabbing himself a small snack, he headed out of the house and made his way to Ouran. On the way there, he heard a familiar cute voice calling from behind him. "She" hadn't heard it in the last worlds, but he still remembered it well. How could he not?

"Haru-chan!" A small blonde child - or, at least, what looked like a small blonde child - leapt and grabbed for his arm, swinging on it a little and beaming at him. "How are you?"

"I-I'm good thanks, Hunny-senpai..." Haruhi replied, trying to get used to the low voice. It felt weird. So weird he was completely distracted by the differences.

Well, almost.

Hunny's blonde hair was done up into pigtails, and he seemed to be wearing a girls uniform, exactly like Haruhi's. "She'd" experienced the genderbending of the twins last world - but was this the next extreme of that? Every member? A "Hostess" Club?

He looked around, trying to find some sign of Mori, but failing. Where was he - or she? He was always with Hunny. He never left his - or her - side!

Something was wrong, but it must have been normal for this world. Mori never left Hunny in the world Haruhi had known, though. It was odd to him.

As they approached the school, however, the answer became clear. "Haruhi. Mitsukuni."

The monotonous voice Haruhi recognized so well spoke out to them. He looked up at the college student, smiling weakly. "Hi, Mori-senpai."

She took in his facial expression. Or rather, he took in her facial expression. She wasn't smiling - though, Mori didn't usually. It was weird, seeing Mori as a girl. She had short hair still, but she had a bigger chest than Haruhi's in the "normal" world! It just didn't feel right! Not that he really cared, but surely a genderbent guy couldn't be bigger than "her"?

He tried not to think into it too much. It seemed that now he was a guy, all the things about being a girl he'd never really cared about sprang onto him.

Mori gave Hunny a cold glare, and Haruhi looked over to her to see it was being returned by one equally as fearsome, even for someone as cute as Hunny. _Same old Hunny-senpai..._

"Let's go, Haru-chan..." Hunny held tighter onto his arm and dragged him along, not even cracking a false smile. Haruhi felt like he'd stumbled into some weird cousin rivalry - one to compete with Chika and Hunny's sibling rivalry from the "normal" world!

And things only got weirder for Haruhi as the day progressed...

* * *

><p>"The Hostesses? Throwing a masquerade ball?"<p>

"Woah! Really?"

"Like the Christmas party, huh?"

"Yeah, but everyone's invited!"

"Really? Even the girls? Awesome!"

It sounded like everyone was hyped up about some sort of "ball" as Haruhi made her way into Music Room 3 that afternoon. There didn't seem to be much hosting going on in comparison to the chatting about this ball, but no one even seemed to care. A slender, pixie-faced girl with flowing blonde hair and dewy purple eyes. She had a high, posh tone but she was also equally as annoying as her normal-world counterpart. Obviously, this was Tamaki. She was standing next to another tall girl, with shoulder-length black hair and purple-rimmed glasses. Just as clearly, this was Kyoya.

The twins seemed to be the same as the last world - except they weren't twins. Well, that was just a simple way of putting it. To tell the truth...

There was only one.

Haruhi instantly recognized her as Hikaru. It was almost a given she would be the one of them to be here, being the oldest. Even so, it seemed odd without Kaoru. Incomplete. That was probably how Hikaru felt, too. As though a piece of her was missing, like an unfinished jigsaw.

The class rep, Kazukio Soga, dragged Haruhi off out of the room in no time since he'd entered. He was glad to observe not everyone was genderbent - it seemed only the hosts had swapped over. However, Soga seemed really different. And quick as a flash Haruhi realized why.

He wasn't scared at all. Quite the opposite.

"Hey! Haruhi!" He flashed Haruhi a broad smile, not a drop of sweat falling from the former's forehead. "I was wondering if you'd like me to take you to the Masquerade Ball? I mean, you need a date, I need a date-" He winked. "And we're both hot, right? So how about it?"

Haruhi felt a little off. She'd not really cared about balls or anything before. But maybe he should play along? He reckoned his counterpart from this world was pretty outgoing and friendly as for how people were treating him, so he figured he'd fit the role somewhat, and nodded. "Sure. I'd love to!"

Soga beamed, similarly to how Tamaki did in the regular world, and walked away, leading him back into the class again.

When they got back however, a few people started staring and whispering. Hikaru came up to Haruhi, slapped him on the back and smirked. "You've done it now, Haru-kun! Good luck telling Hunny-senpai the news."

Hikaru seemed to be the only one somewhat joyful about it. Everyone else turned to look at Hunny with sympathy flooding in their eyes. Hunny turned a bright red, more scarlet than a tomato, before standing up, pouting angrily and storming out. Before she left however, she walked up to Haruhi and slapped him across the face. Haruhi reached out his hand and stroked his cheek better, trying to soothe the pain.

Hunny just glared. "I hope that hurt you just as much as you've hurt me." And continued to stalk out, holding her head high and crossing her arms. Her eyes looked like they were about to flood into seas, though.

What did Hunny-senpai have to do with this? Why was it her business who Haruhi was going with? She didn't have to be so uptight about it. He shared his views to an intrigued Hikaru, who continued to laugh.

"Man, you really are clueless." She giggled, trying to calm herself down. "She's totally had a thing for you since you joined the club!" She lowered her voice a little, "Of course we all know you're totally in love with Tamaki..."

Haruhi blushed just as bright as Hunny had. "I-I am not!" He stuttered. This Haruhi was definitely more nervous than "she" was.

"Joking, Haru-kun!" She smirked. "But if you get so defensive I might think you are~" She spoke in a sing-song voice, before laughing once more and skipping off to join her customers.

This was way too much drama in one day.

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><p><strong><strong>** Short because I just wanted to outline this world first. More information next chapter, stick with me even though I look like I'm lazy - trust me, I'm not! ;)**


	8. Jealousy

8 Jealousy

** Sorry if it feels like I'm rushing my updates from now, I'm spending a lot of time on these but I'm updating really quickly - basically as soon as I've finished a chapter - because I've got a ton of plans with other fics and I want to get round to them all. Please don't hurt me, I love writing this but I don't want to let it go again! D: Enjoy~**

* * *

><p>"Hey, Hunny-senpai!" Haruhi shouted, panting as he chased the small girl. She was quick - sly, like a weasel, too. In moments he had lost any trace of her, and was standing in the middle of the hallway, no clue as to where he could try looking next. Exhaling loudly - almost forcefully. There was no point chasing someone like Mitsukuni Haninozuka. Not only would it be impossible for someone as bad at running as Haruhi to catch up to someone as fast as Hunny, even if he did catch up he didn't expect her to have lost the abilities Hunny had. Well, he wasn't about to go risking it anyway.<p>

Better safe than sorry.

As he caught back his breath, he heard a soft sobbing coming from a nearby classroom. He felt half like saying, "Aha!" in a Layton-esque manner, but decided against it as it would probably only serve to anger the poor girl even further. He instead crept slowly towards the door, just gradually pushing down the handle and looking through a small crack between the door and the frame.

Inside, he saw exactly what he expected, really. A small blonde girl sitting on a window ledge, completely detached from the rest of the world. She looked sort of like Tamaki in his usual dejected pose, although it was nothing like Tamaki when he was upset. For one thing, Hunny actually had a somewhat good excuse to be miserable, unlike in Tamaki's case where it was usually just either Haruhi's blatant remarks or the twin's mockery. But they were nothing compared to heartbreak.

Haruhi felt a twinge in both his heart and the pit of his stomach then. Heartbreak. That was exactly what he had inflicted upon this poor girl; and in some ways on Tamaki too, although his heart was broken already, pretty much. She felt incredibly guilty. How could she be so cold without even realizing it? Surely it was impossible to hurt people like this, without even knowing?

_Then again, that's me. Miss - or Mr, I suppose - heartbreaker._

It was, put plainly, the worst realization he'd ever had to endure.

And it was indeed quite true.

"Hey, senpai?" He stuttered a little, using the door like a shield incase she came any closer to him. She didn't even look. He let out another sigh. Clearly he'd done it, this time. He walked over - cautiously incase Hunny decided to pounce - and put an arm around the small girl's shoulders. To his shock, she didn't even flinch in protest. She merely fell into the arm, drying away her tears but failing. He rocked her a little, shushing her calmly. Once she'd stopped sniffling a little, he decided to talk. "I'm sorry, Hunny-senpai. I had no idea you were interested."

She laughed, but it was humorless and cold. "Right. Not like everyone knew or anything!"

His face fell. What more could he say? Haruhi was never very good at this sort of thing. This was Mori's job. Cheering up Hunny was always Mori's duty to perform. So why did Haruhi get stuck with it?

"I'm sorry. Again. I'm... well, I'm a little off today. I don't really know why, but I just feel a bit..." He searched for the word- "Disorientated, is it? Anyway, all I really wanted to do was make Souga happy. That's a host's job, right? But I guess I neglected you while doing so, and forgot about your happiness." He tried to sound like he knew the whole time, but honestly? He'd not even been here a day really, how could he know? He continued, "But I'd be happy to dance with you at the masquerade ball if you'd like?"

Hunny's face lit up then, her cheeks glowing red. She looked both happy and slightly embarrassed, but in a good way. Or, at least Haruhi thought it was good. And hoped.

It quickly faded, though. "No, now it's a pity date. Taking Souga would be less insulting."

Haruhi laughed a little, before blushing at how out-of-character it was. But then, maybe it was in character for this world? When Hunny turned to look at him, she tried to look insulted with a pout but she ended up looking like she was about to laugh, too. She probably was. "It's not funny, Haru-chan! Cut it out!" She hit him softly, as he wiped his eyes incase of tears.

"Sorry, once again." He looked at her apologetically. "But really? It's funny how fickle you can be with your desires."

She laughed too then. "I guess I am, huh? Hey, since you won't take me out to the ball..." She smiled mischievously, "Maybe you'll take me to the movies or something sometime? Or I could take you. Since my family's richer."

Haruhi smiled gratefully at her. "I'd love to."

He just hoped the other Haruhi would feel the same when he came back. Or they'd be in some seriously deep shit.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Haru-chan!" Hunny squealed, giving him a hug around the neck and a small peck on the cheek.

"Happy Valentine's Day, senpai." He returned, hugging her back. It felt weird, hugging Hunny. It always did, but now it felt even weirder. Now he was hugging a girl as a guy, and it felt more like he was her big brother or something.

This world was really starting to confuse his third-person pronouns.

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><p>"I can't believe you'd do that to your Mommy, Haruhi!" Tamaki pouted as word reached her on the little planned date. Clearly she'd not changed much in this world; the same sort of family complex (or whatever you would call it) had remained, at least. It looked like, female or male, Tamaki's favourite game would always be playing house.<p>

"You aren't my Mommy, senpai. So I think I would do that to you. If that's what you mean." He replied curtly, hoping that the original Haruhi of this world would answer like this.

"Hmph. I don't like your attitude, young man." She swiftly turned her head, her blonde hair swaying along with her. "Daddy! Haruhi's being rebellious again!"

The female version of Kyoya merely rolled her eyes. "How many times must we go over this, Tamaki? You aren't his Mother, nor I his Father. Neither of us are his parents." _Same old Kyoya senpai..._

"Aww, Daddy, don't talk like that!" Tamaki ran over to Kyoya and gave her a hug. "Mommy needs you to help pick up the slack around here!"

"So I'm your slack picker?" Kyoya didn't even turn to look at her as she spoke flatly, looking through her notebook.

"And my husband!" She giggled. Somethings seemed to have changed. Tamaki didn't go into a dejected pose. It seemed female Tamaki and Kyoya got on better than the originals from the normal world - in a bizarre, upside-down way.

"Anyway!" Tamaki let go of Kyoya (who breathed a sigh of relief), and turned her attentions back to Haruhi and pointing at him in an exaggerated fashion. "Father and I forbid you to date Hunny. So there."

Hunny jumped in then, curling herself around Haruhi's arm. "And who are you to decide what I'm going to do, eh? I'm just the 'neighbor', right? And we've been family friends for a while. Don't you give me permission, Mrs Suoh/Ohtori?"

Tamaki ran her fingers through her curtained bangs, laughing a little. "But of course. How could I refuse when you asked so kindly? Just take care of my little son, he's a tough shell but he cracks so easily."

"I do not!" Haruhi spoke sharply, finding himself blushing a little. He didn't know for sure whether he was flustered or agitated. But this was Tamaki - probably both.

Hikaru joined the bandwagon, hugging Haruhi from behind. "Oh, a rebel. How handsome."

"He's mine!" Hunny yelped, clinging tighter to his arm.

_Same old host club. Fighting over the same old things._

And it was true. Even in this world, their obsession with fighting over Haruhi lived on. It was strange and made her feel immensely nostalgic, but also...

Well, it made her feel really glad, to know that she'd found somewhere they were somewhat like how she used to know them. The same old was all she really wanted now. She wanted to go back. To be home. To see all the hosts, instead of these hostesses. While they fit the roles well, there was no denying given the choices she'd always choose the guys. They were the originals. Despite "her" complaining and moaning...

"She" really did like them. "She" really did enjoy their company.

But something was off. There was one person missing. One person who should have been there. It really threw him off, not seeing her there.

Where had Mori gone?

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><p><strong> I'm probably the only one enjoying genderbending all the characters, but this chapter was so much fun. I hope you liked this chapter! :3 Stick with me, okay?<strong>


	9. Mori's Secret

9 Mori's Secret

**I thought I'd give you a little warning. This is going on a sort of half-hiatus.**

** I'm going to be updating less frequently because I have a ton of world ideas but 1) I don't want to overload you with so many at once and rush the way through all of them not stopping to add in the little plot points, and 2) I'm writing other fanfics at the same time and want to focus more on them for now. However, this doesn't mean I'm cancelling on you guys - I'd never do that to my sweethearts (I nickname my readers, yes)! So this is the final chapter for a short while. Please stick with me, I love writing this and it's a very interesting plot I'm proud to go on with to the end, but there are other plots I want to write about also in other fandoms and projects I'm involved in - and I've taken up cheer and I'm auditioning for my school musical too, so I'll have a lot less time than I already do to write this. Please don't blame me for the long wait, I am writing even if it looks like this has been deserted, a promise I make to you whole-heartedly. Anyway, enjoy! :')**

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><p>Once he'd managed to escape the gaggle of flirtatious girls, Haruhi made his way out to the courtyard of the school. The big trees and strange fountain sculptures looked very renaissance; a lot more than the ones in the "normal" world had. It seemed this place had been sent back for a more traditional theme from the baroque period than the modern day one with all the westernized academy-like features, but certainly not old fashioned ones. More regal.<p>

Seeing the tall black haired girl sitting on the grass picking at flowers madly shocked him, really. What would Mori have to do with a bunch of flowers?

"Hey, Mori-senpai? What exactly are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in the clubroom?" He queried her as he drew nearer, the falsetto tone in his voice appearing to finally fade away a little.

She scowled at him. "What business do I have in that stupid room?" Even in the denial, however, a tinge of pink colouring seemed to blossom upon her cheeks.

Haruhi sat next to her, fiddling with all the grass. As he looked around for the picked flowers, he noticed the cluster of petal-less daisies surrounding Mori. It instantly hit him what exactly she'd been up to; she liked someone. The old "he loves me, he loves me not" game every girl - even Haruhi in the usual world "she" came from - had played at least once out of pure seriousness to see what a flower said about the relationship likeliness with their crush (Haruhi had been teased about it by Mei, and had up and refused to do something so foolish - though as soon as Mei had left, Haruhi had tried it out with Tamaki as the crush). He was instantly intrigued as to who it was Mori liked, but he didn't just come out with the question. Like she'd even answer if he did.

"You're still a host- _ess_," He quickly added, remembering Mori was female now, "though, right? You can't just let whatever is bothering you get in the way of what you want to do."

She snorted. "Me, a member of that slutty club of yours? As if I'd go so low. No offense, Haru-chan, but those girls are the worst kind of people to hang out with. Just trying to look out for you."

"You're not?" He asked, a little confused. Mori wasn't a host in this world? Was that really what she was hearing? The host club was nothing without their strong, silent type. Although, it didn't seem this Mori fit either of those categories - she looked quite an average strength and, from the last conversation Haruhi felt he had enough evidence to support him in saying that she was anything but quiet.

"Thanks, Haruhi, I see how much notice you take of me." She groaned. "Although, to be honest, that means you don't pay attention to_ her _either."

Haruhi guessed that by "her" she meant Hunny. She was really curious to know what the beef Mori had with Hunny was about.

"You know, I never noticed you guys had such a strong dislike for each other until now. What's that all about?" He asked.

Mori shook her head furiously. "N-nothing! I'd um, better get home anyway. I mean, look at the time - and I don't have any extracurricular activities today. Kendo practice got called off." She explained. Haruhi figured even this Mori hadn't lost her love for kendo, feeling instantly apologetic to the girl. He'd just said she wasn't strong, but if she was in the kendo club she had to be, right? It wasn't a very feminine sport...

Haruhi waved her off, staying on the grass as she hopped away - an odd sight for Mori. Curiouser and curiouser this whole situation was getting. He felt like Alice being chucked through Wonderland, only so many more lands and so little time to understand them all.

And in this world it appeared Alice had become Alfred, or something of the sort.

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><p>By the end of the day, Haruhi was no closer to understanding Mori's secret as he was to figuring out the meaning for all of these worlds in the first place. But like all the past worlds, he figured just winging it and ignoring all the thinking out and planning was the way to go. <em>They would all somehow sort themselves out anyway,<em> he thought. Well, hoped.

He kind of started to feel a little used. Like he had to solve all these different worlds' problems. Why couldn't they just do it all themselves and leave him out of it? Or her out of it? Right now Haruhi felt like an "it" rather than a "he" or "she" - a mere object being toyed with. It really pissed him off.

But he couldn't desert his friends. Not even in a different dimension.

But how was he supposed to help Mori in one day? He couldn't even figure out what was bothering her, let alone conjure up some sort of solution plan in less than a day. And then an idea hit him.

The daisies had been the biggest giveaway. Mori had her eye on someone. Who was it? Judging by the glares Hunny had gotten from walking with Haruhi, he had a vague idea. It was him, wasn't it? It was the only thing that made sense. And the fact that she was nowhere to be seen once Haruhi had asked Hunny to the ball - well, it only went to show he was right.

He couldn't take two girls to the ball - that wouldn't be right, and it would be unfair to the boys left without a date. But maybe if he got Mori a date to suit her, it wouldn't be as bad? Or... well, he could go with Soga, and the girls could have different dates?

That was the plan he decided on. The main point of this world for him, he'd decided, was that he'd have to make the two girls happy, and by taking one to the ball the other would be envious and therefore not be able to enjoy it as much. Who knew what would happen once this day was over, but for now that was the only probable answer; to take neither. And if he went with Soga, he would be able to get out by saying that taking a girl would cause too much uproar within the club and that if he really wanted to stay pretending to be as a girl he'd have to go with a boy. That seemed like it would work, so he made his way over to the host club to explain to Hunny.

As he walked to Music Room 3, he was aware that he would have to be pretty careful with how he phrased what he was about to say. He was sure even the Hunny of this world would have no problem beating up anyone if it came down to it. He had to tread lightly, and it felt as though he would be walking on hot coals - no, more like through a minefield; one wrong step and he'd be blown to pieces.

"Hey, Hunny-senpai? Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked once he'd got to the clubroom.

The small girl looked up excitedly and practically glomped the boy as she went over to him. "What's up, Haru-chan?" She giggled. This was going to be hard indeed. She was too overjoyed by getting to go with him. _Tread lightly..._

"Well, you see, Hunny," He began once they found somewhere a little more private to chat, trying to think of a good way to phrase this that would neither insult the girl nor make it so he'd have to take her to the ball. "I've been thinking and - though I am a boy - I think my facade as a girl to pay off my debt wouldn't last so long anymore if I took a girl to the ball, you know? Though, don't get me wrong, I'd love to take you-"

"Then why do you care about your stupid "facade"?" Hunny practically screamed, though she did keep her voice down. "Tama-chan doesn't really care about your debt anymore - you know, I think you've probably met your quota already, and you're still staying here? After all that, why not just come out?" The anger in her expression softened to a smile as she concluded, "And what better way to come out about it than taking me to the ball, huh?"

Haruhi sighed. This would be harder than he thought. He had to lie a little. Technically speaking it was half-true, just probably not in this world. "Director Suoh hates me, you know she does. She told me that the second I come out about being a boy she'll have me expelled. She just can't now because I'm under the Chairman's protection, thanks to Tamaki-senpai. One word about me being a boy without the whole family's permission and I'm kicked out of this school for good."

Hunny thought it over for a moment, and then sighed. "I guess you have no choice then. But once you can come out about it all, you're taking me to a ball, okay?" She grinned.

Haruhi decided to nod. Anything to get her to stop pleading him about it now.

"Now come on, back in here!" She squealed, trying to tug him into the room. He pulled his arm out of her grasp.

"Sorry, I'll join you later. I've got to make a call first."

He pulled out his cell phone - the same model "she'd" received from the Hitachiin's in the normal world - and searched the contacts, coming across 'Mori' and pressing the green button. It rang a couple of times, before a girl with a slightly lower voice than most. "Haruhi?"

_ Caller ID... _He thought, a little shocked for a second that Mori knew it was him. "Hey there, Mori! If you want, I'll find you a date for the ball?"

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><p><strong>Sorry, this chapter took a lot longer than usual. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! At the end I'll put little "and this is how it turned out" drabbles or something like that, so don't get bothered that you won't ever find out! You will. ;)<strong>


	10. Good Luck, Male Me

10 Good Luck, Male Me

In the end, Haruhi couldn't find Mori or Hunny a ball date in a day. However, he figured like the last world, leaving a note about it all might help. While he was doing so, he began to wonder what had happened to the other Haruhi's. Had they also been sent around to different worlds? If so, had any of them been put in "her" world? He really, really hoped not. They didn't seem like they could take care of their own worlds at all, so why should they mess up "hers"?

Once again, he took out a random scrap of paper and wrote down on it:

_ Hi there._

_ Seems you've got yourself a ball date with Souga. Sorry, I know you're a guy, but you have to play the part of a girl and if you took a girl to the ball Mori and Hunny would start some bitch fight and you should think about them. Clearly you haven't been, but I'll let that slide if you do one thing. Find them dates. They're both counting on you._

_ Sorry, you'll not understand, but it's worth my best shot._

_ Good luck._

Once again, he couldn't sign it - the awkward thoughts that would be to follow might drive the real Haruhi of this world into madness had he not experienced this stuff too - but he left it on top of the bedside drawers and slumped into his bed, just hoping Haruhi of this dimension would notice and not completely ignore it.

He checked his watch. Still only 7:35PM. He seemed to be rushing through the worlds, hoping to end each one as quick as possible. They all kept lasting so much longer, though. More complex problems... Did he really have to try and fix them all?

Groaning, he slipped under the quilt, squinting hard and urging himself to fall asleep as quick as possible. He must have laid there for a few hours, trying to will himself asleep...

and then he heard it.

A load banging, continually knocking on the door, over and over and over. Whoever it was sure was persistent. He rolled his eyes and got out of bed, feeling rather grouchy as he made his way to the door.

Opening it, he was met by a very angry and very drunk Hunny.

"Oh, Hunny-senpai?" He asked, taking a few steps back subtly incase the drunk teen threw up on him. Was she even old enough to drink so much? Not many commoners stuck to the 20 law, but what about rich people? Wouldn't it be a big scandal if it got out or something? Then again, that was usually the reason _why_ rich people drunk so much. News.

"Hey... H-haru-chan..." The girl greeted through hiccups, putting an arm on the door frame to steady herself. "If you aren't gonna go to the ball thing with me... How's about we make up for it tonight?"

Haruhi flinched at the thought. She must have been joking, right? She couldn't be serious.

"Hunny-senpai, please, go home. You're drunk."

She flailed at the comment, pouting like a little child and swaying from side to side. She was completely off balance. "Am not!"

"You are... Come on, I'll take you."

"No!" She huffed, folding her arms and sitting on the doormat. Haruhi just picked her up as if she weighed nothing. Not that he was strong, but... Hunny really _didn't _weigh anything, for what she ate.

The girl tried to protest, giving up after a moment and falling asleep. Haruhi rolled his eyes again. This would certainly look suspicious.

He walked down the streets in his pajamas - Haruhi was glad he had worn those rather than slept in his underwear like most guys his age must have done - toward the Haninozuka Mansion. It was a pretty long journey, especially by foot, but he didn't want to get in a taxi and have to explain to the driver why he'd been carrying a passed-out girl who at least looked like she was about 8 years old.

However, he didn't have to walk very far, in the end.

Mori came rushing down the street once he was a few blocks away from home, her face filled with anxiety and worry.

"Mori-senpai!" He gasped, trying to run with the girl in his arms. Mori took Hunny from him and placed the small girl on her back as if she weighed nothing more than a backpack.

"Thank God she's okay..." She sighed with relief, looking back on her shoulder at the cute baby-faced blond, soundly asleep on her back. "We've been arguing, but... She really loves you more than I do. It's why she came to you. She doesn't accept you can't take her to the ball - she's a little stubborn, really." Mori laughed, trying to ease away the uncomfortable silence that was obviously going to follow. "Well, night!"

Haruhi raised a hand in farewell, calling back to her as Mori walked off. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mori-senpai!"

"You too!" She called back behind her, smiling softly.

Even so, he really wasn't enjoying this world at all.

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><p>"Do you finally know why you're here?"<p>

"Yeah. I do. I'm here to solve all these problems, aren't I?"

A soft chuckle.

"Yes. indeed you are. These worlds have problems only you can solve. My creators saw how you worked your way around your world, managing to cheer people up. It wasn't just Tamaki Suoh who did all that, you know. That's the only world you're a male we need to send you to though, so don't worry too much about it."

"Thanks..." Haruhi sighed with relief, glad she could be female again. She was wrong before - gender really did matter sometimes.

"Anyway, enjoy the next world. I'm sure you'll love this one!"

She took in a deep breath. She really doubted it, actually.

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><p><strong>Well, I love my idea for the next one~ Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you <em>so<em> much for being so understanding! :D**


	11. The Prince And The Pauper

11 The Prince And The Pauper

**Is anyone still reading this? Oh Gosh, probably not, I'm sorry this is so late... Well, anyway, here's the new chapter! c:**

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><p>This was definitely the strangest of the worlds for Haruhi. Even after being thrown into a world with a bad-boy Tamaki to one where she dated Kyoya, and then being an entirely different sex... Well, they were all pretty normal compared to this one. For when Haruhi awoke that fourth Valentine's Day morning of the year, she'd found herself in a little one-story cottage, situated in what she suspected to be a tranquil village, her wardrobe stacked with only medieval peasant-style dresses.<p>

In some ways, this world felt somewhat normal; after all the "pauper" business with the hosts - mostly Tamaki, really - at least now this would be fitting to that name. However, she could only dread what Tamaki was going to be.

Actually, she had a vague idea what.

She just _really_ hoped it wasn't so.

Trying not to overreact this time - though she was beginning to worry that she might be getting indifferent to being tossed around into different worlds, having to relive the same day over and over in different places - and grabbed a brown, floor-length corseted dress, it's flowing skirt that stereotypical peasant-green, slipping out of the white "night dress" she'd been wearing and into this new attire. She headed out of her bedroom and down the hall, reaching the oak kitchen door in no time at all and seeing her father, not even the slightest bit feminine here, feeding some chickens from the front door coming out of the other end of the room.

Shrugging her shoulders, she went and helped herself to some toast from the side. It was charred black on top, but nice and crunchy if she looked past the aftertaste. Wiping her face down from breakfast, she stood there a moment, waiting for some kind of morning greeting from Ranka.

She got nothing.

Sighing, Haruhi helped herself to another slice of toast and walked out the door, past the chickens that were pecking so delightedly at the floor, collecting up and eating each and every one of the seeds.

On her journey to find what this world's equivalent to Ouran Academy was, she stumbled across a building which drew her attention more than anything else in the village - or, "kingdom", she now realized. Not because it was a western-style castle and you never saw western-style castles in Japan - although that was certainly an additional factor; more because it had the name "Suoh" written on a Japanese flag, stuck right at the top of the castle on the biggest of the turrets.

It was predictable, though all the same Haruhi had been hoping she wouldn't come across such a predicament. Having Tamaki as the Host Club King was bad enough; now he really was an heir! Haruhi thought it best to maybe avoid Tamaki in this world - hopefully the person who needed help was Arai or someone not so rich and important - when she heard a familiar voice (though thankfully not the one she had just decided to stay clear of).

"Quite bold for a pauper to step on to the Queen's land so casually," It began, scornfully. "Don't you think, Kaoru?"

"Why yes, Hikaru." Another answered. "I think we should teach this commoner a lesson about... _diversity_."

She tried to flee as they attempted to grab at her. Had this been a different situation she would have laughed at the dumb jester costumes they were wearing, however in this one they looked so pissed off it was scary; and over the past year she'd learned not to cross an angry Hitachiin.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, now is not the time for silly antics."

The twins, who had managed to grab on to Haruhi's arms and had her in firm grips now released them, though not without pushing her a little towards the floor, though she managed to keep her balance. Haruhi was about to sigh with relief when she realized who had just spoken. _Great. Just the person I was hoping to avoid._

That's right, Tamaki Suoh - or Prince Tamaki Suoh, now - was stood in the courtyard with them just over a dozen feet away, having emerged from a finely cut arch in the hedgerow surrounding the typical, fairytale-castle doors. He even had a bejeweled gold crown sat atop his platinum mop of hair.

"Every girl, no matter their social standing," Tamaki continued, after a brief silence, "Should be treated with respect, especially by gentlemen such as yourselves. I am truly disappointed in you both."

He gave them a glare, holding his nose up a little higher in the air than usual in a snob-like fashion, before turning towards Haruhi and giving her a warm smile. Yet even though he pushed his nose down to regular height, he seemed to emit a certain superior aura, as though he thought of himself as better than all others. Haruhi just hoped he was more modest than he appeared at first glance.

"I am terribly sorry for the way my jesters have treated you, Madam. Please allow me to personally escort you away from these hooligans to somewhere more fitting for someone of your standing." He combed a hand through his hair, sighing over-dramatically. "I am sorry to have to tell you this, but they were right about you not belonging here."

He reached out to grab her more gently than the twins had done, but she shook him away, still smiling even so. "No thanks, Your Highness," She added the last two words hastily, almost forgetting them. "I'm good. I'll be sure to keep off your land from now on, though."

With that, she rushed off, not wanting another familiar face to pop out and make matters all the worse.

"What a peculiar girl..." Tamaki muttered to himself once she was out of sight. "She must be a traveller. How else could she not have known me?"

The twins, who appeared to have calmed down and returned to their "usual" selves, laughed at this. "Perhaps Milord isn't quite as famous as he thinks!" Hikaru started.

"Yeah," Kaoru continued, pretending to wipe fake tears from his eyes. "So much for Prince Charming!"

"Though, look at him Kaoru..." Hikaru stopped laughing.

"I see what you mean, Hikaru..." As did Kaoru.

"Looks like Princess Ayanokoji is in for a surprise."

"Her fiance has fallen in love with a gypsy!"

The two returned to their fits of laughter, until Tamaki turned to them and gave them an ice-cold glower.

"You know, for jesters, you aren't all that great at making people laugh," He remarked, a smirk playing on the corners of his mouth. "Your jokes only really serve to amuse yourselves. I could have Her Majesty remove you from this court in the blink of an eye. Did you ever consider that?"

The two gulped and stood up from where they'd been rolling around in hysterical laughter, bowing solemnly. "We're sorry, Milord." They said in unison.

The smirk on Tamaki's lips grew larger and more menacing. "No more of that "Milord" business, either. It's unbefitting of a Prince to be addressed like that by his inferiors."

"We're sorry, Your Highness."

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><p>Further up in the tallest tower of the castle, an old woman - though calling her such things would be considered treason and punishable - stood, looking out of a tinted glass window that showed the entire courtyard scene.<p>

She'd seen her Grandson reflect her almost-tyranical ways and seemed to be quite pleased with how he'd grown up, despite being "tainted with commoner blood". Even so, she was also very disappointed in him; if the jesters were to be believed and Tamaki really did have an interest in this "gypsy", she needed all the information she could find on her to be sure the tainting of Suoh blood would never happen again.

"Scour the city," She ordered one of the knights stood guarding her door. "Find out about that girl. If she truly has cheap, travelers' blood, make sure it never reaches any blue-blood veins. Keep her well away from Tamaki.

"At all costs."

The humble knight nodded in agreement and stepped outside the doors, heading off to perform his duty


	12. Not-So-Fair Lady

12 Not-So-Fair Lady

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><p><strong> Heyloo again guys.~ I've been inactive due to not having a laptop charger, but I have one now!<strong>

** I can't believe how liked this story is getting! I know compared to some stories 24 reviews isn't really that big a number compared to some stories, but to me it really does mean a lot! Thanks! c':**  
><strong> Anyway, on with the story! And yes, I decided to give Ayanokoji a first name. xD Oh and if you look into Ryūkyū Kingdom you'll know it unified Okinawa - thought that would be a little reference to the series? (PlusIcan'tthinkupnamesforkingdoms...)<strong>

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><p>The beautiful, betrothed maiden, Princess Yui Ayanokoji, combed through her lush auburn hair, contemplating her engagement to the heir of Suoh. Even though it was true the Ayanokoji bloodline was one of royalty and wealth, the real way to the throne of the Ryūkyū Kingdom was by marrying into the Suoh family. Yui had no true affection for Tamaki; no, she was merely aiming for power. The first kanji character of her name meant "superiority" (and also "gentleness", though - as with any of the Ayanokoji family - she was the furthest thing from that). She was born for power. She could taste it flickering across her tongue, lap up the sweet flavor of...<p>

Tamaki Suoh's tonsils.

Whatever, she thought to herself. She didn't especially care for any men at all, really. But if they could get her power? Well, let's just say she easily warmed to those kind of men. It came as no surprise, therefore, that when Shizue Suoh - retired from the throne for her son's sake - asked for Yui's hand in marriage to her grandson, Prince Tamaki, she leapt at the chance.

She had never met him, in truth; she didn't care what kind of person he was, so long as she could gain something from him. She would be meeting him tonight, though, along with her parents and his father and grandmother. She'd picked out the prettiest pink gown to wear (which was also a very expensive dress, to ensure she didn't look like a pauper next to the Suohs). Quickly but carefully tying her hair up in a bun after finishing brushing it, she hopped up from her seat and made her way out of the room she'd been allocated. She was currently in the Suoh castle, waiting for Tamaki to return back from some royal duty. King Yuzuru had explained to her where he was, however she hadn't really paid much attention. It wasn't like she cared.

Shima Maezono, the head servant, greeted her out on the hallway in her plain voice. "Princess Ayanokoji, can I ask you to please either stay in your room or leave the castle for a while? Preparations for tonight are being made."

"Oh, of course!" She replied, giving the older woman a fake smile. "I was just thinking about exploring the gardens anyway."  
>Not, she added in her head with a mental snort. Like she really cared about some stupid bushes made into a maze. It was so cliched. So tacky. It made her sick thinking about how many castles actually had mazes. Most of them.<p>

Not the Ayanokoji castle, however. The Ayanokoji family didn't much care for trivial things like bushes put into "fun" formations. Instead, they kept their bushes in simple rows, surrounding their land. Simplicity was the way of a true blue-blood. You don't have to splash out to make yourself rich if you have the identity.

Not that the Ayanokoji's had identity. But they liked to think they did.

Venturing out into the maze gardens, she heard the sound of two boys around her age laughing uncontrollably. Oh great, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. Jesters. Like this place could get any tackier.

The two boys came around the corner, drawing their laughter to a halt the minute they noticed her and bowing. "How do you do, Princess?"

"Well, thank you." She flashed another false smile. "Do you know where I might find my fiance? I'm ever so worried he's gotten lost; and on the night of our meeting, too!"

More lies. Actually, she just wanted to get the introductions over with. If they'd met once before they could skip all that later. Then the meal would be over quicker and she could leave quicker. That or get drunk and not have the mental state to remember anything from the night. Either suited her.

"His Highness is out flirting with some pauper." The twin on her right said bluntly, shortly later being elbowed by the one on the left.

"Don't say that, Hikaru! He's just too nice with those commoners, that's all." Kaoru corrected, trying to reassure Yui.

"Oh please, Kaoru, he totally liked that girl. Do you think he'd really be that harsh on us if he didn't?"

"Well no, but that's Milord for you..."

"Um, excuse me, you two?" Yui interrupted as politely as she could; though not without a hint of irritation. "You must be joking. Prince Tamaki Suoh, falling for a poor girl? Don't be ridiculous."

"We didn't think it was possible, either, Princess." Hikaru sighed over-dramatically.

"However, I'm afraid the look of lust in his eyes when he saw her was unmistakable." Kaoru continued for his brother, finally giving in.

"Lust and love are completely different feelings." Yui retorted. She was a little jealous of the poor girl, to be honest. That was her money. Her claim to the throne. Having some pauper take it from her the day it was supposed to be made official would be infuriating, to say the least. She couldn't let that happen.  
>"True." The twins replied in unison.<p>

"But if two people both lust after each other..." Hikaru continued.

"Well, isn't that how love starts?" Kaoru finished.

"What do you know about love?" Yui snorted. "You're jesters!"

The twins glared at her then. "We don't serve the Ayanokoji family, you know."

"You have nothing you can hold over us, so we recommend you shut up."

Yui smirked. "But... you have been spreading treason around. I can always blackmail you with that."

The glares on the red-haired boys' faces became thinner. "What do you want?"

"To find out who this pauper is who's trying to steal my fiance.

"And have her executed, naturally."

* * *

><p>Haruhi's relief to be getting away from anyone familiar only lasted about 5 short minutes. She'd been strolling around the kingdom, not really knowing whether she had anywhere to be or not, but hoping if she did the real Haruhi of this world wouldn't be too angry at her. Come to think of it, she'd learnt less about this Haruhi than any other, but she wasn't about to go snooping around in a person's life just to find out a few things that weren't really particularly important anyway. Whilst taking a walk through the lush fields of this fine alternate universe, she stumbled across someone very familiar.<p>

Chairman Suoh.

Smiling at her in his usual kind way.

But... why?

"Ah, you must be the commoner-" he said the word with slight maliciousness in his tone- "my son was talking to earlier. The blonde blue-blood-" again, his tone changed, even though for just 2 syllables - "boy."

"I remember." She nodded, giving him a slight glance of wariness. Where was this conversation going, exactly?

"Well, my mother saw, and she's overjoyed that he made a friend out of such a kind villager! She wants to meet the peculiar girl right away!"

Haruhi could hardly believe Tamaki's grandmother of all people wanted to meet her - actually, she didn't believe it at all. But then again, this was an alternate universe. What else was there for her to do?

Just as she was about to walk off with the Chairman, however, the ginger jesters appeared once again.

"King Yuzuru...?" They asked in unison, raising their eyebrows at him. "What are you doing to that poor girl?"

It didn't take much of a rocket scientist to figure out they meant poor as in wealth rather than in a sympathetic way. Even the real world twins rarely pitied anyone.

"M-my mother would like to meet her."

"Well, isn't that funny..." Hikaru started.

"...Princess Ayanokoji wants to meet her too."

"Perfect!" The King smiled warmly at them, trying hard to disguise his annoyance with joy. "We can take her together, then."

"Oh, but you see..."

"...the Princess doesn't want to meet her at your castle, Your Majesty."

"She wants to meet her in a more... settling environment." The twins finished off in unison.

"Well, I don't see what's so unsettling about Suoh castle!" The Prince growled. "Come, Milady, let me take you to meet my mother, who wouldn't be caught dead talking to a commoner outside of her castle." He hinted towards the twins, glaring at them.

"Fine, fine, you are the King, after all."

Once they had gone, the two jesters exchanged worried glances. "We came here to warn her about the Princess..." Hikaru started.

"...but what if the old lady shares her goal?"


End file.
